Month: September 2015

Imagine What Else Is Out There.

September 10, 2015 — 4 Comments

Jersey City

F/ 14.0, 30.0, ISO 100.

Day 253 / 365

What did the painter say to the wall?

One more crack like that and I’ll plaster ya.

Interesting Fact: The land comprising what is now Jersey City was inhabited by the Lenape, a collection of tribes (later called Delaware Indian). In 1609, Henry Hudson, seeking an alternate route to East Asia, anchored his small vessel Halve Maen (English: Half Moon) at Sandy Hook, Harsimus Cove and Weehawken Cove, and elsewhere along what was later named the North River. After spending nine days surveying the area and meeting its inhabitants, he sailed as far north as Albany. By 1621, the Dutch West India Company was organized to manage this new territory and in June 1623, New Netherland became a Dutch province, with headquarters in New Amsterdam. Michael Reyniersz Pauw received a land grant as patroon on the condition that he would establish a settlement of not fewer than fifty persons within four years. He chose the west bank of the North River (Hudson River) and purchased the land from the Lenape. This grant is dated November 22, 1630 and is the earliest known conveyance for what are now Hoboken and Jersey City. Pauw, however, was an absentee landlord who neglected to populate the area and was obliged to sell his holdings back to the Company in 1633.[29] That year, a house was built at Communipaw for Jan Evertsen Bout, superintendent of the colony, which had been named Pavonia (the Latinized form of Pauw’s name, which means peacock).[30] Shortly after, another house was built at Harsimus Cove and became the home of Cornelius Van Vorst, who had succeeded Bout as superintendent, and whose family would become influential in the development of the city. Relations with the Lenape deteriorated, in part because of the colonialist’s mismanagement and misunderstanding of the indigenous people, and led to series of raids and reprisals and the virtual destruction of the settlement on the west bank. During Kieft’s War, approximately eighty Lenapes were killed by the Dutch in a massacre at Pavonia on the night of February 25, 1643. ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jersey_City,_New_Jersey#Lenape_and_New_Netherland )

Yellow Is Back!

September 9, 2015 — 12 Comments

Yellow Warbler 2

F/6.3, 1/500, ISO 1600.

Yellow Warbler

Day 252 / 365

Daughter: Mom, can I have a yellow bird for Christmas?
Mom: NO! You’ll have turkey like everyone else.

Interesting Fact: Yellow Warblers forage along slender branches of shrubs and small trees, picking off insect prey as they go or briefly hovering to get at prey on leaves. Singing males perch near the tops of the bushes or trees in their territory. As male Yellow Warblers are setting up territories they may perform a “circle flight” in which they fly toward a neighboring male or female in a horizontal, semicircular path. A male may also fly slowly with fast, exaggerated wingbeats away from a female he is courting or a male he is competing with. As these territorial encounters proceed, males start by singing at each other; as the dispute goes on, the songs get quieter or switch to chip notes as the males begin to chase each other. Yellow Warblers typically form monogamous pairs that sometimes last more than one breeding season and reform the next. Yellow Warblers defend their nesting territories from many species, including other warbler species, chickadees, House Wrens, blackbirds, and Eastern Kingbirds. They may even chase off other warbler species while on their wintering grounds. Common predators of Yellow Warbler nests include garter snakes, red squirrels, jays, crows, raccoons, weasels, skunks, and domestic or feral cats. ( http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Yellow_Warbler/lifehistory )

Ta-Da!!!

September 8, 2015 — 23 Comments

Clothespins

F/5.6, 1/60, ISO 100.

Day 251 / 365

What did the first sock say to the second sock in the dryer?

I’ll see you the next time around

Interesting Fact: The survival of the spring-hinged clothespin into the modern era is an unlikely story of Darwinian selection. From 1852 to 1887, the U.S. patent office issued 146 separate patents for clothespins. The first design that resembles the modern clothespin was patented in 1853 by David M. Smith, a prolific Vermont inventor. Smith also invented a combination lock, a “lathe dog” (a machine part for shaping metal) and a lifting spring for matchboxes. His “spring-clamp for clothes-lines” offered an elegant model of “two levers” hinged so that “the two longer legs may be moved toward each other and at the same time move the shorter ones apart.” Smith’s design was later improved by the 1887 patent of another Vermont inventor, Solon E. Moore, whose great contribution was the “coiled fulcrum,” made from a single wire, which joined the two grooved pieces of wood at the center of the clothespin. Moore’s version had the advantage of being both sturdy — it kept clothes securely on the line — and easy to manufacture. ( http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/13/magazine/who-made-that-clothespin.html?_r=0 )

I Go Fast!

September 7, 2015 — 2 Comments

Flash

F/ 18.0, 6.0, ISO 100.

Day 250 / 365

What is the Flash’s favorite movie?
Fast & Furious!

Interesting Fact: The Flash first appeared in the Golden Age Flash Comics #1 (Jan. 1940), from All-American Publications, one of three companies that would eventually merge to form DC Comics. Created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Harry Lampert, this Flash was Jay Garrick, a college student who gained his speed through the inhalation of hard water vapors. When re-introduced in the 1960s Garrick’s origin was modified slightly, gaining his powers through exposure to heavy water. ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flash_(comics)#Publication_history )

Tick Tock Goes The Clock!

September 6, 2015 — 6 Comments

Colgate Clock

F/18.0, 30.0, ISO 100.

Day 249 / 365

What does a wall clock do after it stops ticking?

It hangs around.

Interesting Fact: The current Colgate Clock was built in 1924 to replace an earlier clock designed by Colgate engineer Warren Davey, which was constructed by the Seth Thomas Clock Company for Colgate’s centennial in 1906. After the current clock’s construction, the earlier clock was relocated to a Colgate factory in Clarksville, Indiana.[1][2][3] The Jersey City clock was maintained by John A. Winters from the 1930s until his retirement in 1976. ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colgate_Clock_(Jersey_City))

I Have To Stop Clowning Myself.

September 5, 2015 — 2 Comments

American Oystercatcher

F/6.3, 1/1600, ISO 400.

American Oystercatchers

Day 248 / 365

What did the egg say to the other egg?
You crack me up!

Interesting Fact: American Oystercatchers insert their long blade-like bills into mussels and other bivalves, severing the powerful adductor muscles before the shells can close. ( http://identify.whatbird.com/obj/1013/overview/American_Oystercatcher.aspx )

This Fence Can’t Hold Me! I’m Breaking Out!

September 4, 2015 — 6 Comments

Yellow-breasted Chat

F/6.3, 1/640, ISO 800.

Yellow-breasted Chat

Day 247 / 365

Why did the Yellow-breasted Chat scale the chain-link fence?

To see what was on the other side.

Interesting Fact: Unlike most warblers, this species has been known to mimic the calls of other birds, and it’s the largest North American warbler.  ( http://identify.whatbird.com/obj/342/overview/Yellow-breasted_Chat.aspx )

Let’s Go For A Little Ride

September 3, 2015 — 10 Comments

let's go for a ride

F/29.0, 30.0, ISO 100.

Day 236 /365

A guy walks into a bar and demands to know “Who’s the strongest in here?”
The toughest guy looks at him and says “I am the strongest around here!”
The other guy politely asks “Can you help me push my car to the gas station?”

Interesting Fact:  By 1932, the name fiasco between Horch the man, and Horch the company was water under the bridge. Horch (the company) and Audi entered an agreement along with two other German car manufacturers, DKW and Wanderer, to form Auto Union. The four rings, which Audi still uses today, originally represented the four companies of Auto Union. After the merger, Auto Union became the second biggest car company in Germany after Mercedes-Benz. Each of the companies were allocated a market segment: Horch would build high-end luxury cars, Audi focused on deluxe mid-size cars, Wanderer was put in charge of standard mid-size cars, and DKW was tasked with small cars and motorcycles. ( http://www.carcrushing.com/12-things-didnt-know-audi/)

Park Closes At Dusk!

September 2, 2015 — 22 Comments

park bench

F/10.0, 30.0, ISO 100.

Day 245 / 365

I woke up on a park bench and had no idea where I had been

And then I remembered, I’d been to the park

Interesting Fact: The first parks were English deer parks,[citation needed] land set aside for hunting by royalty and the aristocracy in medieval times. They had walls or thick hedges around them to keep game animals (e.g., stags) in and people out. It was strictly forbidden for commoners to hunt animals in these deer parks. ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Park#History )

 

You Can’t See Me I’m A Flower!

September 1, 2015 — 12 Comments

The American Goldfinch

F/6.3, 1/800, ISO 800.

The American Goldfinch

Day 244 / 365

Why did the little bird get in trouble at school?

He got caught peeping on a test.

Interesting Fact: The American Goldfinch changes from winter plumage to breeding plumage by a complete molt of its body feathers. It is the only member of its family to have this second molt in the spring; all the other species have just one molt each year in the fall. ( http://identify.whatbird.com/obj/91/_/American_Goldfinch.aspx )